The big talk at the State Capitol this year is whether or not Governor Dayton will call lawmakers back for a special session to address a new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings.

Things aren’t going too well on the public relations front for the Vikings. The team is winless after four games. The Ramsey County Charter Commission also got an earful from angry constituents who urged the commission to approve a move that would require voter approval of a countywide sales tax that would pay for the stadium (a move that some lawmakers say would sink the Vikings chances). There are also reports that the Vikings could pull up stakes and move the team to Los Angeles.

“If you want to follow a hilarious twitter account, try @B_Twice (Bernard Berrian) who says that he’s open a lot and should get the ball more,” Kriesel wrote on Twitter.

Berrian quickly took issue with Kriesel.

“Anytime u wanna watch the film with me. Not just one game but all of them,” Berrian wrote to Kriesel. “and if not sit down n shut up!!” Berrian wrote in another tweet.

Kriesel, who lost both of his legs while serving in Iraq, is one of a handful of state lawmakers who have publicly advocated for a new stadium for the Vikings. He is also a co-author to the Vikings stadium bill. The Vikings have also posted an interview with Kriesel discussing the stadium efforts on the team’s homepage.

Kriesel, who is active on Twitter, took the exchange in stride. In one tweet, he said he was amused by the criticism and said he deserved it for ripping him. In another, Kriesel, a vocal fan of the Vikings, may have also questioned Berrian’s playmaking ability.

“I don’t expect Berrian to care if I’m a stadium supporter or not. He won’t be in the NFL when the stadium opens,” Kriesel wrote.

About the blogger

Tom Scheck has covered politics and state government for more than ten years for MPR News. He’s covered several gubernatorial campaigns, two statewide recounts, the presidential bids of Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann, U.S. Senate races, close Congressional contests and the Minnesota Legislature. He lives in Falcon Heights with his wife, son and dog. He can sometimes be found chasing a white ball on a golf course. It isn’t a straight walk. Tips are welcome at tscheck@mpr.org

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It’s amazing what the lack of a filter between athlete’s thoughts and the public can create.

Highly entertaining.

Rich

I’m pretty sure B-Twice learned his communication skills @ Fresno State. Though it does makes me wonder if he completed his degree.. ;^)

Chris

So, what does

“Kriesel, who lost both of his legs while serving in Iraq, is one of a handful of state lawmakers who have publicly advocated for a new stadium for the Vikings. He is also a co-author to the Vikings stadium bill. The Vikings have also posted an interview with Kriesel discussing the stadium efforts on the team’s homepage.”

have to do with anything? Trying to sway readers with emotion in order to side against BB? I mean, really, just because he lost both legs while serving in Iraq doesn’t mean he walks on water. he is human, like the rest of us and if he would like to dish it out, then he can take it.

That said…BB, I’ve watched all the games, you clearly haven’t been open.

Scott Brazil

Let’s grow up, boys. Both of you. I agree totally with what Chris posted above.

Luke

Chris,

I think the point that Tom is trying to make is that the Vikings are facing a mighty steep climb to getting a new stadium… at least if they want to actually get the amount of public funding they are hoping for.

The Vikes have precious few allies in St Paul on their quest, and it doesn’t help matters when players start insulting those allies. Telling anyone to sit down and shut up is rather disrespectful, but I think the fact that Representative Kriesel has no legs certainly provides an extra level to the insult.

Maybe if Bernard spent a little more time focused on his game, and less on his Twitter feed, we wouldn’t be winless going into week 5…

jorn

I’m with Chris. Tossing the disabled vet thing in there is weak journalism, at best. It was an odd non-sequitor in this article.

Thank you, Rep. Kriesel, for your service and sacrifice. I’m so sorry Mr. Scheck felt no shame in using it for his own agenda.

Jennifer

It’s not a non-sequitor when the person whom you order to “sit down and shut up” is, literally, already sitting down (and must as a result of a huge sacrifice he made for his attacker and the rest of us). That’s the point of mentioning it.

Dave

Kriesel is the only Republican worth following these days. If you haven’t seen his May speech on the Marriage Amendment, you owe it to yourself to go to Youtube and check it out.

The fact that he ****es off Berrian is just gravy.

Esox

If anyone has seen Kriesel, “sit down and shut up” is hardly an appropriate slur. Kriesel gets around just fine with his artificial legs. “Sit down and shut up” would only be a cruel slur if kriesel did not make use of artifical limbs and was in a whhelchair, which is not. I’m defending Berrian a bit on this one. My opinion is that he had no intention of slurring Kriesel. “Sit down and shut up” is said often to people who have no so-called handicaps. Just because it was said to Kriesel doesn’t make it a slur.

John P II

I’ll be the last to defend anything to do with professional sports, but the facts are that Kriesel does use prosthetic legs and the title of his book is “Still Standing: The Story of SSG John Kriesel.”

On the public relations front I would add a few DUI’s and a hit and run to the list of negatives associated with the Vikings.

David Stevenson

How about John Kriesel actually focuses on being in the House of Representatives and working on government issues instead of playing petty Twitter games like a douchebag? If Minnesota loses the Vikings, I’m going to remember that this is the same state that voted Kriesel, and laugh. We don’t need politicians who sit there and play on the internet all day, we need someone who can actually run states and countries.